Yucatan Cuisine

MOUTH-WATERING DISHES THAT ARE NOT TO BE MISSED.

Boasting a combination of ancient cultures, natural wonders, and contemporary luxury, the sun-drenched state of Yucatán in southeast Mexico offers plenty to intrigue every travel passion. Whatever journey you choose across the region, you’re sure to experience two regional signatures: the warmth and generosity of its people, and the tantalising flavours of its cuisine.

Specialties like cochinita pibil – the state’s signature slow-roastedpork dish, cooked over charcoal for many hours – and papadzules – tortillas filled with hard-boiled egg and pumpkin seed sauce, and topped with tomato sauce and habanero chillies – offer unique insight into Yucatán’s indigenous heritage.

As you explore, you can delve further into this rich history at local restaurants, cafés, and festivals, or on specialty tours where local food is the star attraction.

The true secret of food from this area lies in the way it combines the long-established methods and ingredients of traditional Mexican cooking with influences from further afield. Elements of Caribbean and Middle Eastern cuisine can be found in Yucatán specialities, as well as flavours brought from southern Europe.

The core ingredients are reliably Mexican and are invariably grown locally: corn, beans and squash form the ballast, while most meals are in some way either flavoured or accompanied by a condiment made of habanero chillies. The Yucatán Peninsula is the world’s largest producer of the pepper that in some ways defines Mexico.

There is extraordinary power to the flavours, made possible by plentiful natural resources and the manner in which they are grown. Many of the key ingredients come from small, self-sustaining farms named milpas, whose centuries-old methods of cultivation are free of artificial pesticides and fertilisers.

They are often surrounded by dense tropical forest, and are dependent on the same rainfall that keeps the jungle thriving. Fields are left to fallow for several years until the conditions

become right to produce a suddenly bountiful haul.

Other small, organic farms rear the animals and poultry for the numerous meat-based dishes – pork, chicken and turkey feature prominently – while the region’s fishermen have the expanse of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea from which to haul an extraordinary variety of fish.

All that is most vibrant about the region’s culinary excellence is concentrated in the city of Mérida, which has become a must-stop destination among globetrotting gastronomes. The renowned Lucas de Galvez market, housed in an enormous pink building, first opened to traders in 1887 and has been bursting with local colours and flavours for the past 130 years.

Here, you can try everything, from the sweet pulp of the vivid red rambutan fruit, to the perfect citrus acidity of the Seville oranges or huaya lime, which are unique to Yucatán. Also why not pick up a kibis or two, a fried wheat snack filled with meat or cheese, and topped with onion or habanero. The falafal-like snack is thought to have been brought to North America by Lebanese migrants, but now has a distinctly Mexican twist.

You can fill bottles with fruit juice from vendors at the market entrance, and when you’re done it’s only a short stroll to Dulcería y Sorbetería Colón, a historic ice-cream parlour founded in 1907. And just when you thought the exquisite local fruits could not get any sweeter there is the champola – ice cream made with coconut milk. The stuff of Yucatán legend.

Tourists rub shoulders at the market with local chefs, who fill their restaurant kitchens with the best and freshest of the region’s unique produce. Many of them also throw their doors open and run cookery schools for newcomers. A few hours learning from the very best will revolutionise your approach to cooking for the rest of your life.

FOUR MORE MUST-TRY DISHES IN YUCATÁN:

Sopa de Lima: Invented by the Mayans, this is a turkey broth, prepared through many hours simmering, that is given an extraordinary boost through the addition of unique flavours including the native xcatic chilli and the juice of the lime-like lima fruit.

Poc chuc: A pork dish made by marinating strips of meat in orange juice before grilling. Typically served with grilled onions, whose sweetness complements the tanginess of the citrus fruit.

Queso Relleno: A dish that takes in influences from across the world: a holed out Edam cheese ball (Dutch explorers are said to have introduced their speciality to Yucatán), stuffed with ground pork, peppers, onions, capers, almonds and egg.

Dulce de Papaya Con Queso: There’s no way to hurry this dessert – its preparation can take up to three days, during which a green papaya is soaked in lime juice, before being caramelised with sugar and flavoured with cinnamon and vanilla, then served with cheese.